NEW DELHI (PTI): The steel-cutting ceremony of a third cadet-training ship was held at a shipyard in Tamil Nadu's Kattupalli on Saturday, officials said.

The ceremony was presided by Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane, according to a statement shared by a spokesperson of the Indian Navy.

The steel-cutting ceremony of the third cadet training ship (yard-18005) was held at the M/s L&T Shipyard, Kattupalli, the statement said.

Senior officials from the Navy and Larsen and Toubro (L&T) were present on the occasion.

The contract for indigenous design and the construction of three cadet-training ships was concluded between the Defence Ministry and L&T in March 2023, the statement said.

These cadet-training ships will be utilised for training officer cadets at sea after their basic training ashore. These ships will also extend a training facility to cadets from friendly foreign countries, the statement said.

The ships are likely to be delivered to the Indian Navy starting September 2026.

"This is yet another significant milestone in Indian Navy's pursuit towards indigenous shipbuilding and is in consonance with government of India's vision of 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' and 'Make in India' initiative," the statement added.